Page 1390 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There were a wide range of stakeholders consulted during the review process, including the ACAT, the Office of Regulatory Services, ACT Policing, the Ambulance Service, ACT Health, the NSW/ACT Alcohol Policy Alliance, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy Evaluation Group, Master Grocers Australia, Liquor Retailers Australia, the Australian Hotels Association ACT branch, ClubsACT, the Liquor Advisory Board, the Victims of Crime Commissioner and the Australian Liquor Stores Association.
The review has confirmed that our new laws are starting to tackle alcohol-related harm and that they are starting to improve community safety. The report confirms that stakeholders believe the government’s reforms have made a positive contribution to community safety with alcohol-related assaults across the ACT down by 11 per cent since the new laws came into force.
The report also confirms that all alcohol-related offences except drink-driving are down by 21 per cent, with drink-driving offences down by seven per cent. These are very encouraging results but the report also confirms that there is more work to be done.
In particular, the report also confirms that there has been an increase in alcohol-related assaults in the city centre. But it cautions that the dataset on this issue is small and must be considered in the context of an increased police presence put in place by the government in 2010.
The government will now be considering the review recommendations. We will look at ways in which the existing liquor licensing regime can be further reformed to improve community safety and to further reduce alcohol-related harm. The review report is available for members of the community to look at. I look forward to the next stage of this process as we identify future reforms which will ultimately be put to this Assembly.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Dr Bourke.
DR BOURKE: Attorney, can you expand on what the data shows in terms of alcohol-related assaults?
MR CORBELL: The analysis of the alcohol-related assaults delivers some mixed results for us. For example, it indicates an ACT-wide reduction, as I said, but an increase in alcohol-related assaults in the city centre. That data shows that alcohol-related assaults have reduced 11 per cent since the new laws came into effect, that alcohol-related non-driving offences are down 21 per cent and that drink-driving offences are down seven per cent.
While, the increase in the city area is of concern, that report cautions that the dataset is small. It is only around six assaults per month and needs to be considered in the context of an increased police presence. The review found that there was an average of 85 alcohol-related offences reported each month from 2010 to 2013. The average number of such offences fell from 96 each month in 2010-11 to 76 in 2012-13.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video